Sooraya looked at the stove and it looked back at her. It was a stove, there were nice little pictures and numbers on the knobs and she understood all of the lables. It shouldn't be too difficult, right?

Beetroot! A whole jar of picked beetroot! And it was aaaaaaaaaaaaall hers! She sat crosslegged on a stool with it between her legs and a fork in her hand as she proceeded to nom her way through them, "So how're you adjusting to the new county, Sooraya?" She asked between mouthfuls.

Sue sidled into the kitchen invisible in search of a snack and eyed Clarice. She knew it was bad to think it but seeing what she was eating Sue couldn't help wondering if that contributed to her skintone. She tiptoed past and sneaked into the pantry.

"It is...interesting." That was a fitting word, interesting. "It is very kind of the staff to provide foods I can use. I was afraid I would always have to go to the city and find my own butchers." She chuckled a bit, putting the nicely chopped lamb on to cook

Ankka staggered into the kitchen, sat on a stool and flopped gracelessly over the island. No particular reason, just the big Fin couldn't find it in himself to hold himself up.

Sue frowned at how high up the tea had been put. Johnny. That ass. She jumped and flailed to try and grab it. No luck. She needed to find someone taller than her. She sighed a little and made herself visible, sticking her head out of the pantry. "Um... help?"

Clarice was pretty sure the ground rocked as Ankka flopped down, "Hi Ankka!" She shuddered at the mention of butchers, "Meat is bad enough, why do you need special meat?"

"Meat good. Green things bad." A hand came up and parted some blond hair as he looked at the girl who'd appeared in the pantry. Oooh. Disappearing chick. "Vhat's vrong?"

She blushed even more at the term of endearment and hurried into the pantry to point up to the tea while she was still partially visible. "I think my brother put it up there on purpose..."

He pulled the box down, handing it to her. "You know, coffee's better for you." He grinned, patting her on the head before going back to flopping again.

"It has to be done within the guidelines." She shrugged as she explained, stepping out of Ankka's way to his seat. "It is sort of the same way things have to be kosher for Jewish people."

"Thanks..." she smiled, turning almost completely invisible at the pat, and followed him out of the kitchen. "I like tea better..." she told him.

"Sounds tricky, at least buddism doesn't have any food rules we have to follow, it's just suggested that vegetarianism is a good way to uphold the precepts," more pickle shoveling, "what're you trying to make?" She waved her fork at Sue.

Sue held up her packet of tea by way of response and went to the fridge to fetch the milk and some cheese for a sandwich.

Ankka muttered something from his flopped position, the words 'meat' and 'coffee' in there somewhere.

"Oh it's the same to cook with pretty much, just a few things limited and having to do a certain way. It's not too tricky. Next time I'll have to make something just vegetables though...maybe I should have started out with that." She eyed the burner, wondering if it was too hot.

Ankka finally started taking interest in the conversation properly. "Vhy is that?" He lifted his head. "Vhere I'm from...the meat is fresh, and sometimes is cooked over a campfire. Especially vhen ve go hunting." He blinked. "I miss rabbit. And fish. And bear can be nice too, so long as it hasn't had too much meat..." He trailed off. "...I'm not being offensive, am I?"

"Mmmm fish..." Sue decided to look for that instead.

"Ooh, if you have a vegeterian option I'd love to try it some day, never really had spicy food before and I'm not much of a cook ..." she stared at Ankka, her button nose wrinkling, "No, not really, but still ... meat," and Sue was putting the cheese back? Excellent, she wouldn't have to share her pickles!

Ankka smiled. "Good. I vould hate to upset people vhen I am new." He reached into a pocket of the combats he was wearing, pulling out a package. He loved his mother. So much. He unwrapped it, revealing a black bar of...stuff...and took a happy bite out of it. "Mmmm..."

She shook her head. "You would have to put a lot more effort into offending me." Sooraya assured him, looking curiously at what he was unwrapping. "And what do you have there?"

Sue located some salmon. Yum! She also found cucumber and decided she had the makings of an excellent sandwich now and went to craft it, bringing the cheese along too.

"A sveet. No meat contained." Ankka looked unbelievably happy as he took another bite. "It's one of the nicest things in existance. I love it." He looked at it, then offered it to the room in general. "Try some. You'll like it."

"Uuuh..." He looked at the lable. "Havu. I'm not sure vhat that is in English. It is Terva Leijona..." He tried to translate it, but shook his head. "You should like it." Scanning the ingredients, he smiled. "No meat." He handed it over.

"Well...might as well, yes?" She took some, taking a bit and immediately pulling a face. Licorice! Really powerful licorice!

Clarice took the packet but she had no idea what the stuff on the back said, so she gave it a try anyway, ".... Gaaaaah!"

"It tastes like licorice in it's natural habbitat!"

Sue decided to give that a miss. "I'm um... I think I'm just gonna... stick with the salmon... thanks..."

"It is...very potent." She was pretty sure that was the word she was looking for. "Thank you."

"...Oh, yes...lakritsi. That's vhat it means!" Ankka snapped his fingers. "Vhat, you don't like it?" He looked at the girls, a little crestfallen - until he realised that it meant more for him! Score!

Clarice swallowed, "Oh no it's nice just .... it was just suddenly licorice to the face!" He looked kinda like a big puppy when he did the sad face.

Sue went to put the kettle on for some tea once her sandwich was put together and sliced neatly into triangles.

"I think that it might be something that would take some...growing accustomed to." Sooraya said lightly.

"Vell...help yourself if you vant to get accustomed to FInnish flavour." He grinned happily, taking another piece and munching it. "I have other flavours too, though you may not like my salty one."

"Salty...licorice?"

"Yes." Ankka nodded. "Ve like salty tastes in Finland."

"Salty doesn't sound too bad..." Sue mused.

Clarice smacked her lips a few times, "So you're sweets are actually salty?"

"Some of them. Ve like sveet things too!"

"What kind of sweet things?" Clarice asked, muching on her pickles again and then pulling a face, did not go with licorice!

"I do not think that I will be able to develop a taste for salty licorice." She did give this kind another try though.

Sue stirred her tea then washed off the spoon and set it on the drainer before moving to sit at the counter with her tea and sandwich.

"Vell, chocolate for one. Though they do have one vith licorice in too..." Ankka blinked. "Turkinpippuri is...Turkish Pepper, I think...? licorice, salt and wery hot pepper..."

"Also Sisu. Weeery strong, not for the faint of heart...like Finland itself!"

"I will say your foods sound quite interesting. I hope you can find some still in the city."

"Sounds scary... the pepper that is... Finland doesn't sound scary."

"... Wow, that's pretty .... yeah," Clarice blinked, she couldn't imagine those as sweets, "Umm ... how about you Sooraya, what do you like to snack on back home?"

"Oh, lots of things." Sooraya took a moment to think. "Gosh feel is delicious, but I think my favourite is asibia el aroos."

"What're they like, sweet?"

"Yes, they're a kind of pastry actually, with syrup all rolled up."

Syrup and pastry actually sounded quite appetising.

"...So...cake?" Ankka looked hopeful. Anything cake-ish was good in his book!

"Well, sort of like little rolls of dough. It translates to bride's fingers so I suppose they get their name for the shape."

"Mmmm, those do sound really nice, a bit like donuts," Clarice nodded, do you think you can get them over here?"

"They sound nice... well apart from the name sounds a bit odd..." she giggled.

"..." Ankka really, really hoped he had a translation fail there. The English-Finnish dictionary was brought out and studied feverishly.

"...Oh...fingers." He said with some relief, putting the dictionary away and nodding. "That is a little strange."

Sue blinked at him, wondering if she wanted to ask what he thought she said.

Clarice giggled, "Still struggling with the language Ankka?"

"Yes...I have been able to speak English from a young age...half-American, you see, is vhy I am called Donald Blake, after my father." He nodded, flushing a little. "But...father is the only native speaker...so, not much practice, a little rusty."

Sue smiled at him, "That's okay, we can help you."

"Yeah, you'll pick it up ... sooo ... if your real name is Donald why do you go by Ankka?"

"It's a nickname." He grinned. "You know Donald Duck? Vell...he is wery popular in Finland. Only the vord for 'duck' doesn't fit vith 'Donald', and that name isn't in our vocabulary..." He blushed. "Ankka means duck. Donald Duck is Aku Ankka in Finnish. Augustus Duck, literally, yes? And I am called Donald, so..."

"So you don't mind people calling you duck?"

"I like Ankka. I've alvays been called Ankka."

"So that's a no then..." she grinned.

"I think it's cute," Clarice giggled slightly, "Duck's are awesome."

"Yes they are." she giggled at the memory of Johnny's collision.

"So I suppose that means we should not call you Donald?"

"I don't mind either vay." Ankka smiled. "You? Can call me vhat you like, all of you, Ankka or Donald, I'll answer either vay. I just prefer Ankka."

"Then I'll call you Ankka... but if Johnny's around and I randomly say quack I'm not talking to you I'm mocking him, fyi."

"Ankka is cool by me, I think it's cute that we can call you duck," Clarice smiled, finishing off her pickles.